Pub. 17 2020 Issue 1

2 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S We will defeat this virus and we will restore and rebuild our economy. When this happens, I believe there will be a significant amount of pent up demand for travel that will help oil prices to recover. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JASON WYATT NMBA PRESIDENT American Bankers Association BANKS TO THE RESCUE I t goes without saying that the world, as we knew it just two months ago, has completely changed. No one could have predicted that the fear of a highly contagious virus spreading would shut down the entire world economy and impact the lives of virtually everyone on the planet. Any of us that have been in banking long enough have lived through our share of crises; however, I don’t think anyone has ever experienced something on this scale. The irony is that banks were blamed for the financial crises of 2008 and now banks are being asked to play a major role in keeping our country from falling into a depression by issuing Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses. While many people are forced to stay home, bankers are busier than ever before. While some people viewed banks as greedy in 2008, now they are look - ing to us for help. Every banker that I know is working day, night and weekends to help our customers and our communities stay afloat, and not for a profit, but because we genuinely care. I am proud to call myself a banker and I am blessed and humbled to be in a position to truly help and every banker I know feels the same way. Although the financial crises of 2008 pro - duced what I believe to be one of the most over- reaching and burdensome pieces of legislation in history for banks, known as Dodd-Frank, this time Congress has passed a bill that was absolutely necessary and is truly helping people when they need it the most. The legislation is known as the CARES Act and it is a $2 trillion stimulus package aimed at keeping our econo- my afloat while we are fighting this virus. The important parts of the CARES Act as it relates to banks are as follows: • A 100% guarantee of loans made for a new SBA 7(a) Payment Protection Program. • SBA to pay six-months of P&I payments on all outstanding SBA loans. • Temporary relief from troubled debt re- structuring categorizations and an op- tion to delay the implementation of the current expected credit loss standard. • A lower community bank leverage ratio of 8%. • $500 billion for the U.S. Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide sufficiently collateralized loans, loan guarantees and other investments to eligible entities.